Abstract

The rejection of the Nice Treaty in the first attempt to ratify it by referendum on June 7, 2001, was a great shock to the political establishment in Ireland, the only member state that has ratified every treaty revision by both parliamentary approval and a referendum. The shock extended beyond Ireland to the leadership of the other member states and to the applicant countries in central and Eastern Europe. The Fianna Fail-Progressive Democrats coalition government received most of the blame because they negotiated and signed the treaty and were responsible for seeing to its ratification. The ratification campaign was lackluster, unmotivated, and failed both to explain adequately the treaty and to assert the government's positions in the face of criticisms from the anti-Nice campaigners. The electorate's general disillusionment with political leaders, the complexity of the teary, and emotional appeals on immigration, the cost of enlargement, the place of small states in an enlarged Union, and perceived threats to military neutrality combined to produce a low turnout and a higher than anticipated "No" vote.